Watching Videos Like a Historian

The way in which people find and process information has radically changed in the last decades. The digital age has challenged people’s ability to critically engage the information they encounter and substantially undermined trust in traditional media and knowledge institutes.  Moreover, as individuals share more and more personal information, companies and private interests tailor their messaging to match people’s interests and echo their beliefs, which has a polarising effect on society. This has resulted in the spread of propaganda, misinformation and the rise of populism, which runs counter to the basic tenets of a diverse, inclusive and equitable society.

High quality education is the best defense mechanism that we have to counter these developments. We believe that if all young people are equipped with the instruments and critical thinking skills necessary to critically engage with the media, the spread of misinformation will stop. For this to happen, young people must be able to critically approach audiovisual sources, as this format is ubiquitous nowadays, and videos have high levels of impact and influence in higher education.

History and citizenship education are especially suited to develop students’ media literacy skills, especially when it relates to issues that require moral judgement and the trustworthiness of sources. In the history classroom, students learn critical thinking skills, how to evaluate sources and judge the trustworthiness of the information.